Friday, 27 May 2011

Two weekends ago I was asked to photograph a wedding for a very good friend of mine.

Raphaela was marrying her fiance Lars, and as I've known her since 2002 and done previous photographic work for her, she was pleased when I accepted her offer to be both guest and photographer.

Raphaela asked me to provide documentary style coverage with a few of the "regular" pictures of parents and family etc thrown in. She didn't want the images presented in a traditional album but instead would use an online printing service to make a photobook.

The ceremony was due to take place at 13:00. I turned up bright and early at 09:30 and started my work. The pictures I took at the house included her getting here hair done, getting dressed and leaving for the church.

Everything went well until after the church. I had planned to get some shots of the couple outside the church but it began to rain so we went on to the post wedding Apèro.

After the post wedding Apèro we all headed 58 kilometers to the reception. the weather got progressively worse and by the time I reached the hotel where the reception was to be held, it was pouring down.

To add to my worries, there were no free rooms at the hotel where I could make some nice portraits of the couple.

I explained to Raphaela and Lars that i wouldn't feel that I had done a complete job unless I had some nice intimate pictures of the two of them.

Watching the sky getting progressively darker and the rain getting heavier, I had an idea.

"How about you both just enjoy yourselves tonight and I'll come by your place next week and get some pictures of the two of you?" I suggested.

Raphaela explained that they wouldn't be having a honeymoon until later in the year so my plan seemed like a winner.

Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, I concentrated on covering the party. And what a party! There were games, an Elvis impersonator, a belly dancer and lots lots more. Raphaela and her guests certainly know how to enjoy themselves :o)

Elvis is on the floor Uh Huh.

Raphaela is a big Elvis fan

Time for Ulrika the belly dancer

Nadja gets to grips with the belly dancer

Everyone enjoyed themselves

Young and old as well

At the end of the evening (which was 02:30 for me), I had shot 680 images with my EOS 7d and the EOS 5d. The next day I looked through them using my Canon DPP software and had to reject 47, due to either the flash not activating or (mostly) Raphaela blinking!

As an aside. In the "old days" when I shot film at a wedding, I would ask my subject after taking their photo, to close their eyes and tell me if they could see purple blobs. If the answer was yes, then their eyes had been open when the flash activated. Nowadays I just check the monitor.

I shoot everything in RAW so my (very simple) workflow consists of pressing CTRL + A to select all the files, sharpen them all, give them all a half a stop underexposure, correct the lens aberrations, convert the lot into 300 dpi JPG's then go and have a cup of tea!

The day of the reshoot was yesterday. The sky clouded over again and for a very short while it threatened to rain.

However, after a short wait the threat subsided and we began our "sequel".

Raphaela told me afterwards that the shoot was much more relaxed and stress free as there wasn't an actual ceremony and guests to worry about. This was evident to me because of the constant joking and smiles.

Monday, 23 May 2011

No sooner did I find out that Canon no longer consider me worthy of their CPS membership when problems struck.Two weeks after posting that entry, my Canon G9 compact suddenly refused to retract the lens. I emailed the service department to get a quote and was told that it would cost Fr 95 (that's $108 or £66) just to look at the camera.

A day after receiving that quote, my EOS 5d started playing up half way through a job.. The main dial on top of the camera (the one you use to control input with your trigger finger) didn't have any effect on shooting whatsoever. I had to shoot the last half of the job in programmed mode. (Thank heavens for RAW data where I can tweak for the best results).If 'd still been a member of CPS I could have gotten a quick turnaround on repairs. Maybe they know something I don't?I'm now waiting for another quote. Looks like I'm going to have to use my backup 7d for the time being.

About Me

I was born in Sunderland, England. I spent my formative years growing up in places as far apart as Singapore, Istanbul, Malaysia, Germany, England, Rhodesia and now Switzerland.

I've been a passionate photographer since 1979. Since then, I have worked all over the World doing what I love. I don't think that there's one field of photography that I haven't been involved in. Everything from forensics and paparazzi, to weddings and catalogue work.

From 2002 until 2012, I was the in-house photographer for Regent Lighting. The premier lighting company in Switzerland. Now I take photos for one of the leading Swiss auction houses.

I'm still as passionate about the art or craft (call it what you will) of photography today as I was all those years ago.